Mehanna did not regret trip to Yemen, US alleges – Boston Globe

According to a December 1, 2011 article by the Boston Globe, federal prosecutors introduced recorded conversations between suspected terror supporter Tarek Mehanna and his former friend, Kareem Abuzahra.

According to the article, Mehanna expressed no regrets for his decision to travel to Yemen in 2004, stating "I don't regret it for a second. Those were the best two weeks of my life, for once not sitting on my butt, telling people to do something I wasn't going to do." Federal prosecutors argue that Mehanna traveled to Yemen "in search of terrorism training."

Yet the Boston Globe reported that Mehanna's attorneys sought to discredit Abuzahra on cross-examination, getting him to admit that he consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana. Abuzahra additionally admitted on cross-examination any talk of assassinating public figures was a "knee-jerk reaction."